The contract begins Jan. 1, 2013, and applies to all BlueCross members who carry pharmacy benefits through the insurer.

The three-year contract will bring an increased focus on technology and quality, in addition to an effort to control the rate of medical cost increase for BlueCross and its customers.

“This new partnership is about delivering on our corporate strategy to provide the best medical value possible to our members,” said Elaine Manieri, vice president of pharmacy for BlueCross. “Medco not only provided the best overall value, but also demonstrated the best technology and system capabilities to serve our accounts and their employees.”

According to Manieri, BlueCross and Medco are committed to doing as much as possible to ensure an easy transition for members, with the goal of no service disruptions.

“We focused on working with Medco to deliver a better product for our members from the very beginning of the relationship,” Manieri added. “The enhancements in our new agreement include many value-generating opportunities including passing on savings obtained from new network pricing and enhanced rebate levels to our customers.

In addition, there will be automatic transitioning of open mail order refills from Caremark to Medco.”

The Medco pharmacy network contains over 1,600 pharmacies in Tennessee, including a broad network of pharmacies across the country. BlueCross members should not experience any service disruptions and their pharmacy benefits will continue uninterrupted. However, beginning Jan. 1, 2013, members should check to ensure their preferred pharmacy is in the Medco network.

About BlueCross

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee’s mission is to provide its customers and communities with peace of mind through affordable solutions for health and healing, life and living. Founded in 1945, the Chattanooga-based company is focused on reinventing the health plan for its 3 million members in Tennessee and across the country. Through its integrated health management approach, BlueCross provides patient-centric products and services that drive health improvement and positively impact health care quality and value. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Inc. is an independent licensee of the BlueCross BlueShield Association. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.bcbst.com.

About Medco

Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MHS) is pioneering The world’s most advanced pharmacy® and its clinical research and innovations are part of Medco making medicine smarter™ for millions of Americans.

With more than 20,000 employees worldwide dedicated to improving patient health and reducing costs for a wide range of public and private sector clients, and 2011 revenues of $70 billion, Medco ranks 34th on the 2011 Fortune 500 list and is named among the world’s most innovative, most admired and most trustworthy companies.

For more information, go to <a href=http://&quothttp://www.medcohealth.com">http://www.medcohealth.com.